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Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming and small adjoining parts of Montana and Idaho is well-known as a wilderness preserve, an area of large wildlife populations and a major recreation destination. People who love to fish also laud the two-million-acre park, attracted by the stunning scenery and plentiful angling opportunities. One major fishing hotspot is Lewis Lake, the third largest in Yellowstone, named for Meriwether Lewis of the famous Corps of Discovery expedition. Similar to many other bodies of water in the park, Lewis Lake was once fish-less, but it now supports a roster of introduced species.

Lewis Lake

The lake lies in southern Yellowstone near the edge of the most recent caldera and southwest of Lake Yellowstone, the biggest of America’s high-altitude water bodies. The Lewis River enters Lewis Lake from the northwest and exits it from the southeast along its course between Shoshone Lake and the Snake River; the lake thus lies in the Pacific watershed. It covers some 2,716 acres and sits at 7,782 feet in elevation.

Access

Lewis Lake is easily accessed from Yellowstone’s South Entrance Road, off which lies a developed campground named for the water body. As of 2010, Lewis Lake Campground consisted of 85 non-reservable campsites costing $12 per night, and the Park Service, according to the official Yellowstone website, reported it was usually one of the last campgrounds in the park to fill up. In 2010, it was open between June 15 and November 6.

Fish

Historically, no fish inhabited Lewis Lake because of a natural obstacle: the big, 29-foot falls of the Lewis River just below its exit of the lake. Today, several kinds of trout not native to either the lake or the park exist here: brown trout, brook trout and lake trout. Such exotic fish, originally introduced to improve recreational opportunities, are now considered ecologically deleterious. Other introduced species include the Utah lake chub, which, according to Varley and Schullery's Yellowstone Fishes, is the most abundant of Lewis Lake’s fish.

Tips

Mathews and Molinero recommend fly-fishing the deep waters of the southwestern shore of Lewis Lake, as well as the head of the Lewis River’s outlet. In Fishing Yellowstone National Park, Richard Parks similarly points to the weedy reaches of the southwest boundary of Lewis Lake as productive summer-fishing locations, as well as the vicinity of both the inlet and outlet. Cater your angling methods to the season, recognizing the differing feeding behaviors and dietary preferences of spawning and non-breeding trout.

Regulations &amp; Safety

Anglers must comply with all current fishing regulations in Yellowstone. In 2010, Lewis Lake fishers could keep only one fish of any kind longer than 20 inches in length; five fish total in combination could be kept, although no more than two of these could be brown trout. As of that year, Lewis Lake was one of only two bodies of water in Yellowstone open to motorized boats (the other being Yellowstone Lake). Barbed hooks are banned in all parts of Yellowstone. As elsewhere in the park, be aware of the presence of grizzly bears, which may be attracted to fish remains, and other wildlife.

Resources

About the Author

Ethan Shaw is a writer and naturalist living in Oregon. He has written extensively on outdoor recreation, ecology and earth science for outlets such as Backpacker Magazine, the Bureau of Land Management and Atlas Obscura. Shaw holds a Bachelor of Science in wildlife ecology and a graduate certificate in geographic information systems from the University of Wisconsin.